Indian fight in Malaysia Open ends as Satwik-Chirag exit in semis

Ace doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, India's last remaining gold medal-hopefuls in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton event, bowed out in the semifinals on Saturday.

The World No 9 ranked pair lost to South Korea's Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae, 21-10, 21-15. The Indian duo had secured a thrilling 26-24, 21-15 win over local favourites Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo in the quarterfinals.

"They played really well, and we could have followed our game plan a bit better. Instead, we played some random strokes, but kudos to them for playing a solid game," Satwik told reporters.

"Today, the pace of the game was very slow compared to the last three days. It's part of the game. It was a valuable learning experience for us. It is disappointing, but we have a long way to go. Today's match showed that we can still make it a good fight."

Satwik had rarely competed since the Paris Games due to injuries. The duo was runners-up in the previous edition of the Malaysia Open. The pair won the men's doubles titles in the last Asian Games, besides clinching a bronze in the World Championships in 2022. Satwik and Chirag will play the India Open Super 750 event starting January 14.